Survey: Owners Worried, Buyers Excited

Consumer sentiment is following an unusual trend for a seller’s market: Home buyers are upbeat, but homeowners are less so, according to ValueInsured’s latest quarterly Modern Homebuyer Survey of about 1,600 consumers. Why the divergence between buyers and owners? Some homeowners may be feeling stuck, while buyers are anxious to jump into real estate before home prices and mortgage rates rise further.

Fifty-eight percent of homeowners surveyed say they want to sell but are holding off because they don’t want to purchase again at today’s higher prices. Fifty-nine percent of owners say they believe buyers in their area are overpaying for a home, according to the survey.

Homeowners are the “key to increasing inventory,” says Joe Melendez, CEO of ValueInsured. “If more homeowners become motivated to sell, prices could ease. This, coupled with rising rates and other economic factors, should signal to new homebuyers to take further precautions when they buy.”

On the other hand, millennial first-time home buyers are increasingly confident about the housing market, the survey showed. “We’re seeing the effects of a confident job market and the economy overall, particularly among millennials,” Melendez says. “Borrowing standards are also loosening; lenders are more motivated to bring in first-time buyers. These, along with the increased anxiousness to buy—even sight unseen—are likely factors boosting new home buyer excitement and confidence.”

Buyers still have plenty of concerns, such as saving for a down payment and eroding housing affordability, particularly in the nation’s hottest housing markets.

But millennials say they are ready to make some sacrifices in order to afford their first home. They say they’d be willing to give up or cut down on eating out; take on a second job; give up most or all vacations; give up most or all clothes shopping; and return to or stay living at their parents’ home to save money.